SYLLABUS FOR EUH 3931 – THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (FALL 2019) Jacques-Louis David, The Tennis Court Oath (1791), Musée Carnavalet (Paris) CLASS SCHEDULE: T: 3:00PM–4:55PM/R: 4:05PM–4:55PM in 111 Keene-Flint Hall Professor Anton Matytsin Office: 230 Keene-Flint Hall Office Hours: W: 2:00PM–4:00PM E-mail: [email protected] COURSE DESCRIPTION: The French Revolution was a watershed moment in the history of the Western world. Many historians believe it was the beginning of modernity, as the Revolution ushered in seismic transformations in political, social, economic, cultural, and intellectual life. These changes included turbulent popular upheavals that precipitated the unraveling of the existing social order, the unprecedented overthrow of a centuries-old monarchy, the rapid mutation of political institutions, the abolition of slavery, and the end of the Christian calendar. French armies exported the ideas and the institutions of the Revolution into neighboring European countries, while political leaders fighting for independence in Haiti and in Latin America appropriated the rhetoric of the French revolutionaries for their own purposes. The Revolution’s mythological legacy continued to inspire revolutionaries across the world far into the nineteenth century and beyond, making it an event of truly global significance. This course will begin by looking back at the Old Regime to explore the various factors that contributed to the end of the existing order. The Revolution’s singular importance has turned it into a minefield of controversial debates across generations of historians, who have attempted to account for its causes. We will then explore the Revolution in its many stages: from its radical republicanism, to the Reign of Terror, to the eventual rise of Napoleon. We will end the course by considering the Revolution’s short- and long-term effects. LEARNING GOALS: (1) Students will become familiar with the major events that occurred before and during the French Revolution. The lectures and secondary sources will offer students context and factual grounding. The primary sources will allow the students to have a first-hand experience of the period. 1 (2) Students will grapple with the complex, and often contradictory, historical explanations that surround these events. We will compare and contrast the assumptions, approaches, and methodologies of various historians and critically examine the interpretations that they offer. We will not just reflect on the Revolution itself, but on the historiographical debates surrounding it. (3) Students will learn to read primary sources in a critical fashion, seeking to understand how and why these texts were produced and how they were received by contemporaneous audiences and by modern historians. (4) The written assignments will enable the students to analyze these primary sources while improving their ability to express their ideas and arguments in a clear and convincing fashion. (5) The discussions will let students to actively engage with the readings, their professor, and their peers. Students will be asked to argue a variety of perspectives and defend different points of view. REQUIRED TEXTS: • Lynn Hunt and Jack Censer, The French Revolution and Napoleon (Bloomsbury, 2017) ISBN: 9781474213714 • Peter McPhee, Liberty or Death: The French Revolution (Yale, 2016) ISBN: 9780300228694 • Jeremy Popkin, A Concise History of the Haitian Revolution (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011) ISBN: 9781405198219 • Timothy Tackett, The Coming of the Terror in the French Revolution (Belknap, 2015) ISBN: 9780674979895 • Alexis de Tocqueville, The Ancien Régime and the Revolution (Penguin Classics, 2008) ISBN: 9780141441641 Note: Readings Marked as (C) are available for download on Canvas ASSIGNMENTS AND EVALUATION: Participation and Professionalism: 20% Mid-Term Papers: 50% (25% each) Final Paper 30% Note: You must complete all assignments in order to pass the course. Grading Scale A = 100–93 B = 86–83 C = 74–71 D = 62–60 A- = 92–90 B- = 82–79 C- = 70–67 D- = 59–56 B+ = 89–87 C+ = 78–75 D+ = 66–63 F = below 55 For more information see: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx Participation and Professionalism (20%): A) Attendance: You are expected to attend all scheduled meetings, complete all the assigned readings, participate in discussion, and behave in a respectable and collegial manner. You will be permitted two absences over the course of the term; every unexcused absence thereafter will lower your participation grade by one third. It is also important to arrive to class on time. Punctuality is a show of respect for your instructor and classmates and is important not just in class but in a job and your eventual career. Guidelines for excused absences can be found here: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/1617/regulations/info/attendance.aspx#absences. 2 B) Readings: Please come to each lecture class having completed the assigned readings for that day. “To complete the readings” means allowing yourself sufficient time both to read through the assigned materials and to think about them. Please bring all assigned readings to class on the day for which the reading has been assigned. It is your responsibility to contact me if you have difficulty locating the reading assignments. We will not always talk about all of the readings directly. However, these texts were selected to provide you with a foundation for the material and issues covered. C) Discussion: Bear in mind that “active participation” means asking good questions as well as proposing good answers. You are strongly encouraged to bring questions about the readings to class—If one of you had questions or difficulties, others certainly did as well. Active participation is essential for the success of this course. You will be regularly divided into groups and asked to prepare debate positions for our weekly discussions. These divisions will evolve as the different factions in the Revolution evolve. Midterm Papers (50%): Students will write two papers on pre-assigned topics. The essays will be roughly 1500-2000 words in length. They will be based on your readings. You will be provided with prompts well in advance of the deadline. The papers will be due on September 16th and November 4th, respectively. Your essays will be turned in via the Canvas e-learning website and monitored with the Turnitin Anti-Plagiarism Service. Final Paper (30%): The final paper will take the place of the final exam and will be due at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, December 10th. Like the first two papers, it will be based on the course readings. This essay will be 2000-2500 words in length. COURSE POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS: Extensions and Late Penalties: The penalty for turning in late assignments is one letter grade (A to B, B to C, and C to D) for each day that the assignment is late. Assignments that are over three days late will not be accepted and will automatically receive an F. Extensions will only be granted in case of extenuating circumstances, such as documented medical emergencies. Please note that you must complete all of the assignments in order to pass the course. Classroom Etiquette: Laptop computers, tablet devices, and phones of all ranges of intelligence are not permitted in the classroom. Please refrain from using any electronic devices during our meetings, as they can be distracting to both you and your fellow classmates. In cases where your readings are available on Canvas, please try print the readings out and bring them to class. Diversity and Inclusiveness in the Classroom: An open, inclusive environment in the classroom is key to our collective success and is something that the university and I value enormously. I hold myself and each student responsible for fostering a productive learning environment that supports and encourages diversity and inclusiveness. Diversity can include, but is not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, nationality, and immigration status. Diversity also entails different perspectives, philosophies, and life experiences. I believe that by hearing and learning from a variety of sources and viewpoints, each of us will gain competence in communication, critical thinking, and cultural understanding, as well as an awareness of our implicit biases and how they shape our interactions with others and the world. This will make us better scholars, better citizens, and better people. Contact: The University of Florida requires that you use your UF Gatorlink account for university related email communication. Please see http://www.it.ufl.edu/policies/#email to read more on this 3 policy. It is important to check Canvas and your UF email accounts regularly. I will do my best to respond to all course-related emails within 24 hours on weekdays and 48 hours on weekends and during breaks. Please note that if you contact me about an assignment at the last minute, I may not have time to respond. Like most UF faculty, I treat e-mail as a formal means of communication. Your e-mails should be written with a basic greeting (i.e. Dear, Hello, Hi, then my name), body, and salutation (i.e. Thank you, Sincerely, Best, then your name). Proper grammar is expected. Office Hours: My office hours are Wednesdays 2:00PM-4:00PM or by appointment. You are highly encouraged to attend office hours at least once during the semester. I would like to get to know each of you individually. STATEMENT REGARDING ACADEMIC HONESTY: Students are expected to uphold the Academic Honor Code of the University of Florida. The Academic Honor Code is based on the premise that each student has the responsibility (1) to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student's own work, (2) to refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity in the University community, and (3) to foster a high sense of integrity and responsibility on the part of the University community.